The song was recorded by Pete Seeger with only three verses. A few years later another man, Joe Hickerson, added two more verses.
Seeger was inspired at a concert to write the song, when he saw written in a notebook the following: "Where are the flowers, the girls have plucked them. Where are the girls, they've all taken husbands. Where are the men, they're all in the army."
The song is protesting young women getting married, and their husbands going off to war. The song is logically set up and easy to understand. It doesn't push its stand very strongly, but it has a strong message. There are no specific events being referred to in this song. Almost all the men fighting in the war had a girlfriend back home, and if the man died the woman was left alone. This song was written in 1956. It was then rewritten in 1960. I chose to research it because I was interested in the lyrics when I first saw them and wanted to know more.
To listen to Pete Seeger talk about his music, click here.
The first sixteen lines ofWhere Have All The Flowers Gone:
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young girls gone?
Taken husbands every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
There have been at least 14 different versions of this song, each version in a different language. Some of the languages are Spanish, Russian, French, and English, of course.
"Now somebody will ask me, Pete, how can you prove these songs really make a difference? And I have to confess I can't prove a darn thing, except that the people in power must think they do something, because they keep the songs off the air." - Pete Seeger
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The song was recorded by Pete Seeger with only three verses. A few years later another man, Joe Hickerson, added two more verses.
Seeger was inspired at a concert to write the song, when he saw written in a notebook the following:
"Where are the flowers, the girls have plucked them. Where are the girls, they've all taken husbands. Where are the men, they're all in the army."
The song is protesting young women getting married, and their husbands going off to war.
The song is logically set up and easy to understand. It doesn't push its stand very strongly, but it has a strong message.
There are no specific events being referred to in this song. Almost all the men fighting in the war had a girlfriend back home, and if the man died the woman was left alone.
This song was written in 1956. It was then rewritten in 1960.
I chose to research it because I was interested in the lyrics when I first saw them and wanted to know more.
To listen to Pete Seeger talk about his music, click here.
The first sixteen lines of Where Have All The Flowers Gone:
There have been at least 14 different versions of this song, each version in a different language. Some of the languages are Spanish, Russian, French, and English, of course.
"Now somebody will ask me, Pete, how can you prove these songs really make a difference? And I have to confess I can't prove a darn thing, except that the people in power must think they do something, because they keep the songs off the air." - Pete Seeger
Websites Used:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_Have_All_the_Flowers_Gone%3F
2. http://www.sfheart.com/protest/index1.html